1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to filing cabinets incorporating a drawer interlock system which prevents the simultaneous opening of more than one file drawer and which further permits all the drawers in the cabinet to be locked in a closed position.
2. Description of the Related Art
In U.S. Pat. No. 4,355,851, to Slusser, issued Oct. 26, 1982, there is disclosed and claimed an interlock mechanism which prevents the simultaneous opening of more than one file drawer in a filing cabinet Although this interlock successfully prevents simultaneous opening of more than one drawer, there is no disclosed mechanism for locking all drawers in a closed position It is often desired to lock all the filing cabinet drawers in a closed position to protect unauthorized entry into the cabinet and secure important documents and other materials.
Locking systems for locking drawers in a closed position are well known, even in those systems which prevent the opening of more than one drawer at a time. None of these systems appears to be adaptable to the Slusser interlock system. Further, the drawer lock systems are typically separate from the interlock systems.